Colors of Betrayal and Hope
by The Shadowfox Mistress
Summary: What if when the temple was attacked Volteer in a last act of courage managed to hide and save five other dragon eggs? ANB fic.
1. Prologue: Five Sparks of Hope

**Prologue**

"Where is Ignitus?" Cyril yelled as the temple floor beneath them shook. Both dragons knew it was Terrador's doing, knew that it was his final most desperate attack.

"He's taken the purple dragon egg!" Volteer yelled back, but his voice was lost in the aftershock, and it took all his remaining strength just to stay standing. Cyril, however, wasn't so lucky. The blue went sliding across the floor, talons clicking as they attempted to find purchase. The ground gave another heave and he was airborne. With a sickening crunch, he slammed into a stone pillar and slid, slowly, to the floor.

"Cyril!" Volteer yelled getting to his feet. He ran to his fellow Guardian and found the impact had knocked him unconscious and shattered one of his pale icy wings in the process. "This is bad, horrific, atrocious," the yellow dragon mumbled to himself, taking a couple steps backwards.

With out warning, the sound of a far off explosion shattered through sanctum. An eerie silence filled the air and Volteer looked around in panic. Time stopped as a distance _doom…doom… doom…_ echoed heavily. The beat of the war drums settled and time started again. Fires hissed angrily and stones that had stubbornly held their place for centuries gave their last wailing cries as they shattered, cracked, and finally crumbled.

"The inner gates, they've fallen," he muttered softly. The knowledge stewed in him bitterly and he took a couple of steps forward in purpose, but stopped and turned. "I need to at least need to try and attempt to accomplish something, sorry old friend," he apologized to Cyril's unmoving form before turning deeper into the temple. He ran past the multitudes of doors and corridors that turned the temple into a labyrinth, only stopping once he reached the egg sanctuary. There he found Ignitus and the purple dragon egg gone. Quickly, he scanned the room and saw that none of the other eggs had been moved or taken. 'I have to devise a way to rescue more of them,' he thought and, without hesitation, went around and started collecting all the eggs he could. Another frightful explosion rocked the sanctuary and the hinges of the grotto door threatened to fall apart.

"Unfathomable, how could they have breached the inner sanctum so fast?" Volteer muttered and looked down at the eggs he had collected. A crimson red, a midnight blue, a starlight yellow, a pale iced hue, and a shaded forest green all sparkled back at him. He wished he had time to save more of them, but then again, he wished he had time to do so much more.

He ran to the center of the chamber and unhooked the lock on the dais with his claw. A small hole appeared, slowly expanding, and he hastily stuffed the eggs inside and locked the dais back in place. Slowly the hole began to close as another crack thundered throughout the room. Ruble fell in large clumps from the ceiling and a few nests shattered under the impacts, pitiful squishing sounds emitting from them as their lives faded. Volteer turned and raked a claw against the top of the dais and, with bitter satisfaction, saw his mark. Ignitus would find it, would know what it ment.

The door gave a final shattering crunch and buckled under the force of the apes behind it. Volteer turned and with a trumpeting roar challenged them. "I will not allow you to defile this sacred place!" he yelled in fury. Apes swarmed, unafraid, into the chamber, fully clad in elemental resistant armor. 'So that's how Terrador lost,' Volteer thought as he gave another bone rattling roar. The armor made no difference to him anyway. His electric breath was useless with all the eggs around; he didn't dare hit them.

Volteer ran forward into the tide of furry bodies, trying to take down as many flea-bitten mongrels with him as he could. As he slashed fangs, claws, and tail, he hoped that his last act wouldn't be in vain.

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Ignitus flew through the night air silently as he made his way back to the temple. Thoughts of the purple egg's fate flashed through his mind; none of them positive. The wind shifted as he flew and the acidic scent of smoke hit him before he even came in sight of the temple and his heart fell even deeper.

Ignitus landed at the temple's entrance and quickly ran inside, fears becoming a reality. The temple was battle scared and the once beautiful shrines praising the gods stood ruined. One by one, he went through all the rooms, hoping desperately to find some signs of his friends, of his fellow Guardians. None were a comfort, all he found were the lone apes trying to loot and pillage any treasure they could. Mercilessly, he killed them all.

Ignitus made his closer way to the egg sanctuary, heart racing. As he got to the entrance, there was a giant mound of rubble blocking half the archway. Carefully he picked his was over the debris and squeezed his way inside. Once in, he turned and saw that the rubble had been what was left of the sanctuary's door. Panic surged through him and he ran forward. He saw what was left of the Grotto and quickly sunk to his knees. Crushed eggs were strewn about and a streak of blood splashed the floor where somebody had fallen. Parts of the ceiling had cascaded inward and all the nests defiled.

Ignitus lifted his head and gave a deep, mournful cry, echoing from the back of his throat. He dropped his head in misery, and a flash of light caught the corner of his eye. He looked up. In the middle, on the dais, a mark barely stood out against the dazzling blue. A claw mark blazoned with electricity. "Volteer," he whispered getting to his feet. Slowly, he walked forward, praying his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. He got closer and saw that Volteer's mark was truly there, a bit faint but there. In a few hours it would be nothing more then a slash but to Ignitus it was the answer to his prayers.

He slipped a claw into the dais's lock and waited with anticipation as the hole slowly expanded. First he caught a simmer of red, a sparkle of yellow, of green, until finally all the eggs stood bared out before him. Five eggs flashed in the torch light and Ignitus's spirit soared.

The dragon race would live on.


	2. Chapter 1: Set Out

Chapter 1 pt. 1

Spyro closed his eyes as he got up on his hind legs and leaned against the tree. "And no cheating this time," he heard Sparx yell from somewhere behind him.

"I never cheat," Spyro muttered, but there was no. With a small shake of his head, the purple dragon slowly started to count. "1…2…3…" The swamp around him seemed to hush for a moment with baited breath as he listened, before letting loose again with crystal clarity. The distant sound of the Silver River tricked into his ears as the swampfrogs croaked up a serenade under the waterfall to his left, the soft flutter of butterfly wings graced him all around and just behind him, he heard the harsh, cocky wing beats of his brother. "8…9…10! Here I come!" Spyro yelled leaping from the tree, body doing a midair twist as he tried to catch Sparx, but the tiny yellow dragonfly dodged the assault with a simple roll.

"Never catch me this time purple boy! Tch, at least with those moves you won't," Sparx taunted and quickly fluttered away to a new hiding spot.

Spyro landed gracefully in the mud and looked around for his brother. A faint glow from behind a nearby mushroom tree alerted him of Sparx's presence and he crouched down low, belly practically touching the floor. "I see you my little glowing friend," he growled with a smile, ready to pounce.

"Seeing and catching are two different things 'a big boy," Sparx laughed, not even caring that his cover had been blown. He gave Spyro on last smirk and stuck his tongue out before flying off, deciding to use a different tactic for once.

"Yeah, you better run," Spyro laughed softly before giving chase. Sparx buzzed just ahead of him and he kicked up his speed, preparing for another pounce, when Sparx quickly veered to the left and up a small slope that connected to a path that led deeper into the forest. Spyro made a very sloppy turn after him, trying to keep up his, assuming Sparx was trying to be clever by flying over the gap that spanned the small waterfall like last time and send him plunging into water below, but that wasn't going to happen this time; he'd been practicing his jumps. Spyro put on a burst of speed and cleared the space with ease, wings outstretched to allow as much airtime as possible.

Sparx watched in amazement, jaw dropped, as Spyro preformed the stunt. Spyro landed with a soft _'thump' _on to the wet earth and with a small yell, Sparx kicked it into overdrive around the bend. Spyro watched his brother disappear and slowed his pace down to barely a craw, slinking around the corner. He leapt with a roar, but nearly tripped over himself when he found no Sparx.

"Hey fatty, over here! There's no way I'd be fooled by that stupid trick!"

Spyro looked around and saw the little firefly hovering smugly on the other side of a root bridge. Spyro frowned, wondering how in the world he was going to get over this little challenge; the bridge had to be at least twenty feet long. He climbed tentatively onto the first root and gave a yelp as it suddenly gave under him.

Sparx burst out laughing as Spyro fell into the filthy pool of swamp water below. "What's the matter little Spyro? You can't fly? Ahh that's right you walk everywhere hmmm… that's too bad, you're just gonna have to keep on swimming boy."

"You're toast when I catch you!" Spyro growled, sputtering water from his mouth. He climbed out shivering from the pool and carefully made his way to back up to the top. He paced back and forth in front of the bridge, wondering how to get across, Sparx watching him with a giant smirk on his face. Spyro raked his nails against the dirt, thinking deeply when inspiration hit him. He took a deep breath and went into a stance, hoping that his speed would be enough to get him safely across. Sparx just watched in amusement as Spyro ran as fast as he could across the bridge, roots giving way behind him. . The amusement, however, turned to shock as Sparx saw that he was outrunning the time it took for the roots to drop. He wasted no time in flying away, but couldn't resist trying to get one last remark in.

"Ah must be tough to lose all the time Spy-ah!" A wet tongue of a frogweed lashed around his torso and suddenly everything went black. It took him a couple a seconds to realize he was in the stomach of the frogweed, and once he did, he immediately started punching and yelling at the top of his lungs, "All right let me outta of here you overgrown fungus! Spyro, seriously, lend me a hand here will ya brother!"

"Gee Sparx I dunno, frogweeds gotta eat too," Spyro mused, panting slightly as he walked up; Sparx's glow quite visible from inside the frogweed.

"Spyro whack it! Do something. I'm your buddy, my wings are getting moldy," Sparx ended pitifully, giving the thing one last punch. 'Hope you get indigestion,' he thought darkly.

The frogweed croaked threateningly at Spyro, seeing another potential meal. Spyro held his ground, knowing he was more than a match for this little weed. The frogweed gave a menacing hop forward and Spyro gave it three solid whacks with his horns. The weed gave a pitiful croak and spat out Sparx, before sinking into the ground with a loud moan.

"Ughh, now I smell almost as bad as you do," Sparx said groggily, taking flight with a couple of weak flaps. "Ohhhh and that's pretty bad. See ya later sucker!" Without hesitation, he flew away at top speed through a near by vine wall, leaving Spyro alone again.

"So much for gratitude," Spyro commented dryly, rolling his eyes, and walked over to the vine wall. "Lucky for me it's the dry season," he muttered, examining the vines. He closed his eyes and gave the wall a sharp clout with his horns. It crumbled with ease, and he went through without a second thought. There was a small clearing and more hungry frogweeds growled at him in anger, but he ignored them, instead concentrating on his target: Sparx. He knew he was going to catch him this time. They were nearing the Maw, as everybody in the forest called it, and their parents had forbidden them to go past it. That was where he was going to get him.

Spyro smashed easily through another vine wall and smiled. There was nowhere for Sparx to run now. All that was left now was the Maw, a giant gaping muzzle full of teeth, woven together from pieces of wood and root. He stalked forward and Sparx just gave him a taunting wave before flying into the Maw.

"Hey, that's cheating! We're not allowed there!" Spyro yelled indignantly.

"Pft excuses, excuses. Catch up or give up chunky!" Sparx laughed, brushing Spyro's accusation aside as he continued on.

Spyro looked at the Maw, annoyed, wondering how he was going to break through it. It was definitely stronger then the vine walls, but it still looked brittle enough… Spyro jumped into the air and quickly spun his body around. His tail and back smashed into the Maw and it shattered after three solid hits. "That wasn't so hard," Spyro said to himself with a smug smile as he jumped lightly into the Maw, pushing stray pieces of debris and splinters out of the way. Inside was a cave and Spyro looked around somewhat lost. "Where's that little gnat gone now?" he muttered, voice echoing eerily around him. The question was quickly answered as Sparx's voice ricocheted from down the left passageway. "Has anybody seen a giant purple thing around here? I seemed to have lost mine."

Spyro turned just in time to see the tall tale glow of his friend fade away. He quickly followed, water and slime splashing underfoot as he dodged through an abnormal amount of frogweeds as he went through the twisting passage. He observed that they seemed angrier than normal, but the thought quickly faded as he saw the distant glow of Sparx get brighter and brighter. When he reached solid ground again, he ran after Sparx at full speed. He would win this time, he was sure of it.

Sparx turned around with a laugh as he saw Spyro come charging after him. "You know this is getting a little boring ahhh-" A large furred hand cut him off as it tossed him roughly into a wooden cage.

"Sparx!" Spyro yelled as the sudden screams of apes filled the air. The leader stood fully erect on his hind legs, spotted loin cloth covering his thighs and a bone pierced right between his nostrils. With each breath, steam erupted from his nose and in his gigantic paws, he held Sparx's cage. Behind him ghastly lesser apes were dropping themselves from above, flinging off the giant mushrooms. The leader gave Spyro one threatening growl before hoping away into the swamp.

Spyro felt as if he'd been bathed in fear. "Sparx!" he yelled before taking off after the filthy creatures. He ran blindly forward into the swamp's undergrowth, praying that the apes wouldn't out run him. The sounds of the apes began to fade and Spyro used the last of his energy to put on an extra burst of speed. The swamp whipped past him and without warning, the ground disappeared under him. Spyro gave out a small scream of fright as he fell down a small slope and a percussion of ape laughter mocked him. Spyro looked up groggily and saw he had fallen into a small basin about ten to fifteen feet wide. Across from him, on the other side, the ape leader stood on a ledge just out of his reach. With a laugh, he yelled in a furred voice, "I thought all you guys was gone, but that doesn't matter, your stupidity killed you."

"You miserable coward, let-me-go!" Sparx threatened at him from inside the cage, shaking a fist.

"Hahaha, don't let him get away!" the ape leader ordered ignoring the dragonfly, more intent on the dragon. Spyro looked around in fear as lesser apes jumped down into the basin. He gave out a warning growl as the apes slowly advanced and he barely was able to dodge the first punch that was thrown at him. He let his instincts take over though and he rolled out of harm's way with one fluid motion and came back with a sharp rack of his horns. The ape he hit skidded backwards and came at him again without even a flinch. This time he nailed Spyro in the jaw and Sparx even winced at the cracking noise that followed the impact. At this rate they were both going to end up dead, Sparx knew he needed to do something.

"Hey, let me outta here and fight me like a… thing… whatever you are! You pathetic wretch," Sparx yelled. The ape leader glared down at him, baring his teeth.

"Quiet, you," he growled, covering Sparx with his foul breath.

"Hey monkey! Oooh ooooh ehh! Pick on somebody your own size and smell."

The ape leader gave Sparx a death glare, and with out hesitation, jumped down into the basin. The underlings stepped respectfully away from the dragon as their leader approached. "I've had about enough of firefly," he yelled putting the cage down and lifting his leg, preparing to smash Sparx and the cage into pieces.

"Sparx! NOOOO!" Spyro yelled, getting to his feet, anger bubbling up inside him. The lesser apes tried to block his way, but in a spurt of energy and fear he jumped over them, using his wings to push himself up higher than he had ever gone before. He landed right in front of the leader and opened his mouth, unleashing the tension inside him. A jet stream of fire came spewing out and the ape leader jumped away from Sparx's cage in fright.

"Wha hoo, was that fire dude?" Sparx asked in amazement, as the apes all took a consecutive step back from Spyro.

The ape leader grimaced in pain and frustration as he clutched his burnt hand to his chest. "Take care of them," he hissed to his underlings, "I gotta report to Cynder." The lesser apes started to circle around Spyro again, unsure as their leader fled away into the safety of the mushroom forest.

Spyro crouched low as all the apes closed in on him. One jumped to strike and Spyro opened his mouth. "Take that!" he yelled, more fire spewing from his mouth and the ape tumbled away, clutching his face in pain. Another came at him and Spyro used a similar maneuver with his fire again. The apes paused, looking at each other. Was this little whelp really worth the effort? Giving Spyro dark looks, slowly one by one the apes jumped back into the safety of the forest, until finally they were nothing but distant calls. Spyro gave a snort of flame at them before turning to Sparx.

"Get me outta here Spyro! I think my wings are singed!" he yelled as Spyro walked up to him. With a small whack of his horns, the cage smashed and Sparx fluttered out without a moment of hesitation.

"You okay?" Spyro asked with concern as Sparx stretched his wings with a small mid-air flip.

"You almost torched me, dude!" Sparx said in mock offense, before it hit him. "Wait a second, you breathed fire! Common we gotta tell the folks!" Sparx started to fly away as fast as he could back towards their hollow, but Spyro sank exhausted to his knees. Sparx heard him collapse and hurriedly flapped back over. "Hey Spyro, old buddy, what's wrong? We gotta get out of here before those creepy apes come back."

"Hold on a second Sparx, I'm just tired," Spyro replied. After a few moments rest, the purple dragon was okay and they made their way slowly back towards home. On the way, Spyro vaguely wondered if he had won the game or not.

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Spyro sat by the edge of the riverbank with a strange mixture of sadness and excitement coursing through him. Earlier that day his parents had explained to him that he wasn't really a dragonfly but some strange exile from a distant land.

He looked into the river, no longer phased by its beauty. It always turned silver at the full moon, thus how it got its name. With a sigh, he got to his feet and floated into the river. A mass of ripples followed him and he flipped onto his back to watch the night sky above him. The water was cold, but he barely even felt it through his smooth, glossy scales as he studied the two moons above.

'How could I have not seen it before? How could I have been so stupid?' he thought bitterly, 'I'm at least five times bigger them, I can't fly, and I look nothing like them!' He smacked his tail roughly against the river's surface in irritation. Water splashed up towards his face and with a small burst of flame, he turned it all to steam before it could hit him.

A sudden tickling sensation, briefly, drove the thoughts away and he flipped over to see what was bugging him. A school of moonfish were swimming under him, their tails being the cause of the tickle, and he vaguely recalled the old legends about them. They spawned only under the full moon and it was considered very lucky to find them, but he wasn't feeling lucky at all tonight.

After a while, the tickling sensation started to annoy him and he left the river to traverse the swamp's paths. He let himself walk along, scales still damp in the night air, not really paying any attention to where he was going and just letting his feet carry him by.

His parents watched in sadness as he slowly passed the hollow they called home. They knew what his final decision would be, even if they weren't ready to voice it or if Spyro, himself, hadn't even come to realize it yet.

Spyro just kept walking, not giving much attention to his surroundings, and when finally decided to look up he found himself in front of the ruined remains of the Maw. He starred into the broken wooden mouth for a while and finally realized what he was going to do.

His blood burned with the thought of leaving the forest, to finally see the outside world. He knew it was full of danger, but that was only half the excitement and if all went well he might even see others of his own kind; finally able to figure out what he really was, who he really was.

Spyro sighed and turned to leave to go tell his parents but stopped when a noise caught his ears. It sounded like a distant roar, and just the faint note that he caught of it made him itch for a fight. He froze, trying to see if he could hear it again, or at least tell what direction it was coming from. He waited, and when it seemed like it was a singular occurrence, it sounded again. The Maw, it was coming from the Maw. He took a couple steps closer and was about to jump in when suddenly Sparx came flying up, buzzing and yelling at the top of his voice. "Hey dude, I've been wondering where you wondered off to. Ma and Pops are starting to get worried. Hey, earth to Spyro. Hello?"

Spyro flinched as he was snapped out of his trance. "What happened?" he muttered blinking.

"Dude, we gotta go home or dad's gonna kill us," Sparx said, fluttering around his face.

"Umm, hey Sparx, did you here a noise?" Spyro asked looking down at the ground before looking back up.

"What kinda noise?"

"A kind of a roaring noise."

"Nope, nada. Why? Are you going crazy again? Is that fire of yours cooking your brain?" Sparx asked in sudden suspicion, crossing his arms.

"No Sparx, I just thought I heard something that's all," Spyro said turning away from the Maw and leading the way back to the hollow.

"And why do I not believe you?"

Chapter 1 pt. 2

"So that's it huh? Leaving Sparx's behind the old homestead? Not a care in the world, don't look back," Sparx said mournfully hovering in front of Spyro. He couldn't believe that his best friend was actually leaving, sure they had joked about it but he didn't realize that Spyro was actually being serious.

"This is your home Sparx, but I just found out that my home is out there somewhere and I've gotta find it," Spyro said, trying to offer some comfort, "Besides I'm not leaving you behind I'm just leaving you where you belong."

"Well I thought I belong with you 'coz I'm always with you, but I guess I was wrong huh? I'm sure I'm wrong about a lot of things. You know what, you're right I'm wrong." And before Spyro could reply, Sparx flew away hurt.

"Don't worry about him Spyro," Spyro's dad said as he turned around to face them. "You know how hotheaded he can be. You'll see him when you get back." Spyro's head still drooped but his dad knew that he had given his son some comfort. It had taken a lot for Spyro to finally admit that he was leaving. Sure he probably didn't have the best timing, having only announced it last night, but they supported him all the way. "Now, now, son," he continued, "keep your head up, your nose clean, and use that breath of yours wisely; all gifts come with a price."

With a sigh, Spyro's mom stepped in, seeing that her husband was no longer going for comfort. "Don't listen to you're father's preachings Spyro. Just be yourself, it's all any of us can do."

"You're right mom, dad. This will be fun," Spyro said lifting his head with a half-smile, trying to reassure them.

He finished his good byes to his parents and made his way back to the Maw. He knew his destiny lay beyond that point, he just had to find it, but he just kind of wished he had someone else there to see it with him. Maybe he should have let Sparx come…

Spyro jumped into the Maw and slowly went down the tunnel. The absence of frogweeds didn't surprise him. The apes hadn't come back since he torched them last week. With a thought, he realized that it seemed like months had passed, not just a week.

He left the tunnel and entered the small dish that had once served as a battle arena. He looked around and wondered how he was going to get up on the ledge that the ape leader had taken to escape, he was sure that led to other portions of the swamp. He searched until finally he found a root that looked sturdy enough to work as a step. He jumped on top of it and it creaked a little, but didn't break. With a mad leap he just barely caught the edge of the ledge above him. Claws dug into the soft dirt and hind legs scrambled for purchase. After a couple of tense seconds, where he was certain he was going to fall, he finally was able to push himself up, onto the ledge.

"That was a work out," he sighed, giving his wings a quick flap to cool himself down. A light rain started to fall from the overcast sky and he groaned, hoping it wasn't a premonition. He continued down the path, head down and wings drooped over his head. The muffled sound of ape laughter sounded and he looked up sharply, fire at the ready. Not seeing anything, he continued on, figuring that his mind was just playing tricks on him. A sudden ape call rippled through the air and he looked around fearfully. The noises of apes jumping overhead reached his ears and ran, half-caught glimpses slipping in and out of his vision. Only did he stop when he burst into a clearing, the distant call of the apes slowly fading. 'They must have not realized I was there,' he thought, panting heavily.

Spyro took a deep breath and calmed himself before walking forward. The rain was slightly thinner here, but other than that this area didn't look any different from any other portion of the swamp. Mud still sloshed underfoot, and frogweeds still hopped at him angrily. It made him wonder how big the swamp really was.

Ignoring the frogweeds, he looked around. Mud stuck to his paws in the freshly dampened earth, and he was glad for the small puddles of water here and there to wash his feet in as he walked around. The only thing that particularly caught his eye was a small slope that trailed along a ridge and out of sight. 'Better to start there than anywhere else,' he thought trotting over.

He walked up the gently curved path until one of the giant mushrooms that seemed innocent enough popped out of the ground and advanced towards him. Instantly, he was on guard, hissing and spitting out wisps of fire. He had never in his life seen such a creature like this in his part of the swamp, it was like some demented crossover between a spider and a mushroom. He held his ground, and when the creature didn't show any sign of advancement he realized that it was just protecting its territory. He sat down, still cautious, and studied it, realizing, now as he got a closer look at it, that his dad had once told him about these types of creatures. They were called Bulb Spiders and were generally harmless.

Spyro leapt passed it with ease and continued up the path, but was forced to a halt as he reached the top of the ridge. "Where in the world do I go now?" he muttered to himself. The path just seemingly ended with a bare cliff. He looked around and through the foliage and mushrooms on the other side he thought he saw another path start. He judged the gap between the two areas and realized he was going to have to put a little more power than normal into his jump. He took a few steps back and made a mad running leap for the other side.

Wings flapped frantically and he was surprised to suddenly find himself airborne. The trip didn't last long and he hit the other side quite hard. He landed in a heap and gave a feeble "ow."

"Spyro!" The said dragon jumped to his feet as Sparx's voice echoed around him and the next second the little yellow bug was buzzing right in front of him and talking quite fast. "So, ah, me and uhh the old man were chatting and the whole belonging thing, you know, came up and we decided that best friends belong together… even if one of them is purple and does has some weight issues."

"Weight issues huh?" Spyro said with a smile, tilting his head. "Well at least I've never been turned into a lantern," he joked, glad to have his brother back.

"Oh please! Lantern smantern," Sparx said rolling his eyes. "Let's see what's out there," he added pointing. Spyro shook his head, and the pair continued with Sparx promptly taking the lead. As they walked the rain suddenly thickened and Sparx had to hastily take cover under a mushroom.

"Ugh I hate this rain," he complained.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Spyro said watching his friend with amusement as he tried to pluck off a mushroom cap in the hopes of taking it with him. "You know that's not going to work."

"Shut up," Sparx said giving one final tug, "You know it might be a lot easier if you decided to help."

"But then I might get a hang nail," Spyro laughed.

"Then use your teeth!"

"Cavities," he answered simply as he jumped down a couple of steps into another clearing, surrounded by massive tree roots along the sides and full of massive mushrooms. Sparx gave a small grumble and followed, flitting erratically between the rain drops. The two got about halfway into the clearing when the sudden scream of apes filled the air.

"Woah! What the? Who invited these guys?!" Sparx yelled, flying a couple of paces back as apes dropped around them.

"The search party I saw earlier," Spyro hissed wide-eyed, pupils contracting.

"Dude, I suggest running," Sparx said as one of the larger apes took out a stick of dynamite and flipped it around in his hand threateningly. Spyro didn't even bother with a reply as he jumped and glided away from the main party. The apes followed him and just as they got close enough, he lashed out at them with his tail and claws.

"Woah, I see you've been practicing," Sparx said in awe as Spyro added his fire breath into the fray. Spyro could only reply with a nod, out of breath. The apes advanced again and he charged forward into the action, dodging a thrown stick of dynamite. When all the apes were either dead or having fled, Spyro was on the verge of collapsing.

"Dude that was awesome! You were all like whack, and take that and-" Sparx ranted, hovering around him. Spyro looked at him and smiled, all the late night training had pulled off. A sudden cracking noise killed the excitement and both of them looked up in fear. Horror crossed Spyro's features as a portion of vines suddenly exploded inward and giant creature made of moss and wood lumbered through into the clearing. "Mommy!" Sparx yelled taking off in terror as Spyro got to his feet, turning to run, but he found his way blocked as two more moss creatures emerged from the dirt behind him. Spyro readied his fire to singe the beasts, but the first hit him from behind, across the back with a large log and his aim was thrown off. The fire went up harmlessly into the air as he landed a few feet away in a heap. Sluggishly, he lifted his head and watched in a dazed fascination as the monsters slowly slandered towards him. He heard Sparx yell out one last intelligible thing before his world slowly went black.


	3. Chapter 2: Spyro?

**Chapter 2**

"Hey! Hey! Get away from him you slime balls," Sparx yelled as he buzzed around the swamp monsters' heads. One of the creatures gave him a bored look and back handed the little insect. He went flying into a tree and all the air was forcefully shoved from his lungs. He hit the ground and started coughing and sputtering. Refusing to give up, he managed to get himself back into the air, but barely got even halfway across the clearing before collapsing in pain. There was nothing he could do but watch in horror as a moss monsters slung Spyro over his shoulder and slowly walked away.

"Spyro…" the dragonfly gasped before losing consciousness.

--

Plas eyed the ground carefully looking for any signs of what happened. He paused in his search and looked skyward cursing the rain. Normally, he loved the steady drip and the strange feelings it gave him, but now was totally the wrong time for any sort of wetness. Any tracks that might have explained what happened here would have been washed away by now, he was wondering why Blaze even wanted them to come and check.

The yellow dragon gave a small snort of electricity and was just about to give up searching his area when a quick glow of yellow caught his eye. He walked over and carefully sniffed the ground, something warm moved under him and he reared back in surprise. He turned and yelled "Hey check this out!" before going back to his find.

"What is it?" Blaze asked with a puff of smoke gliding over from a patch of mushrooms he'd been inspecting, Bane and Stag quickly joining them a couple seconds later.

"I think I found something," Plas answered burying his snout into the dirt and unearthing a small, damp and dirty Sparx.

"Ooohh a dragonfly," Stag said crouching close to Sparx, pushing the others away in the process and cooing "Poor thing, it must've gotten buried in the rain."

"You're too soft Stag," Bane commented in disgust, "It's probably just retarded. Everybody knows that you can't fly in rain." She ended with a small snort and Stag snapped back with a small burst of ice. Bane scrunched her nose in irritation and was about to make a comeback when Blaze interrupted the two.

"Common you two, stop arguing," he snipped.

"Well, what do you think we should do then Mr. Leader?" Bane asked, turning her attention to him, clubbed tail whipping back and forth in annoyance. "The dragonfly obviously didn't send up the fire."

"Leave it or squish it, you choose," Blaze replied simply causing Bane to grin and Stag to give out a gasp.

"No! We can't leave it here all defenseless and alone, and we definitely can't kill 'em," she said in Sparx's defense, picking him up and clutching him to her chest. A small groan escaped Sparx at the rough treatment, but none of them heard it.

"Great she's grown attached, just like all the others," Bane muttered under her breath causing Blaze to smile. Stag puffed up in anger and Plas sensing a fight prepared to step in.

"Spyro?" Sparx muttered weakly coming out of his stupor. The four dragons jumped around him in surprise at his sudden movement, Stag even going so far as to dropping him. He landed on the ground with a sharp yelp of pain as his already injured wing folded underneath him.

"Nice one genius," Bane commented.

"Quiet," Blaze snipped, "he's saying something."

The four dragons crouched low around Sparx as his vision slowly started to return. "Hey you're not Spyro," he slurred, starting to focus when abruptly all the events came back to him in a rush. "SPYRO!" he yelled jumping up into the air and flying around in a lopsided circle, the adrenaline rush blocking the pain.

"What's he doing?" Blaze yelled, black smoke trailing from his mouth as he readied his fire, not sure how to handle Sparx's recent insanity.

"How the hell should we know?" Bane countered with a small hiss, tail leaving gashes in the ground as she snapped it back and forth.

"Plas! Zap it!" Blaze commanded, thinking quickly. Plas nodded and (ignoring Stag's protest) sent out a small tongue of electricity at the bug.

Sparx felt the panic build in him as he flew, uncoordinated, around the clearing. The last thing he remembered was Spyro getting carried off by those stupid moss monsters and then there were four strange creatures that looked exactly like Spyro standing all around him. He didn't know if they were about to squish him or what. Pain suddenly cut through all his thoughts and he vaguely felt himself fall back down to earth as yellow and blue overtook his vision. He landed roughly and could only mutter a small "Owww" as his body began to spasm in the mud. The Red Spyro entered his vision and he tried to move, but found himself limited.

"Who are you and what have you done to me?" he yelled sluggishly. An after spark of electricity jumped across his body and he flinched.

"Will you cooperate?" Red Spyro asked ignoring his obvious pain and question.

"Who are you?" he yelled again.

"His name's Blaze," a Blue Spyro said coming closer. Sparx heard the pity in her voice and as she motioned to pick him up again panic surged through him.

"Hey, hey, hey no touchy. I'm fragile," he yelled, struggling pleased to note the small amount of movement coming back to him.

"Now that you know my name will you cooperate?" Red Spyro said bluntly, shoving the blue one out of the way.

"No. Now where's my buddy Spyro? Were you the ones who sent those moss monsters after us?" he yelled back, trying to prop himself up on his elbows, but failed as after spark ran through him.

"Moss monsters?" Blue Spyro asked, tilting her head.

"He's probably talking about the Growths. They have been active a lot lately with all the rain," a Yellow Spyro said with a sneeze, a few golden sparks flying from his nose. He knew exactly who had zapped him.

"Whoop de do," the Green Spyro said rolling her eyes. "So a Growth took a dragonfly. Why do we care?"

"Hey, watch it Chickie. I don't like you're attitude," Sparx said angrily. "Spyro's my friend and he's not a dragonfly. He's a…whatever you guys are." All the different colored Spyro's froze at his words. He was definitely confused now, that was not the reaction he had been expecting.

"You mean he's a dragon?" Green Spyro asked cautiously. "And if you're lying I will squish you."

"Why would he lie to us Bane?" Blue Spyro questioned tilting her head again.

"Stag, stop being so naïve."

"Calm down you two and let the little guy speak," Yellow Spyro said stepping in and nudging the two apart before turning to Sparx. "So is he a dragon?"

Sparx didn't like the 'little guy' comment but answered anyway. "Yeah if that's what you are, he's a dragon thing."

"I think he's lying," Red Spyro said bluntly.

"Hey buddy why would I lie?" Sparx yelled indignantly, buzzing his wings in anger. Pain flashed through him again, but he ignored it. He had righteous fury on his side. "My purple overweight friend just got dragged off by some giants with the intelligence of your average rutabaga and I'm just sitting here talking to you. He may even be getting killed right now! I don't have time for this," he yelled, slowly starting to flapped his way off the ground (ignoring the darkness at the edges of his vision) and tried to head over to where he had last seen the rutabagas take Spyro. When the Green Spyro was suddenly trying to block his path he felt as like he was going to hit her.

"Wait! Did you say purple? As in he's a purple dragon," she asked, wings flared. He tried to fly around her, but she blocked his way at every turn and the action proved to be too taxing. Finally he relent.

"Yes. Purple, mauve, violet, maroon, whatever color you want to call it. He's not some freaky color like you guys," Sparx answered, crossing his arms in irritation waiting for her to move.

"Are you sure?" Red Spyro asked walking up. "Cause if you're lying…"

"Yeah, yeah you'll squish me. I know that already. Now will you get out of my way?"

"I think you should come with us," Yellow Spyro said stepping up completing the group's semi-circle around Sparx. "We can help you find you're friend, Spyro did you say his name was?"

"Yeah," Sparx said in exhaustion, dropping a few feet from the air as the endorphins started to fade. "But why do you want to help me? Before I even told you that Spyro was a purple what's it you guys didn't even give a rat's ass."

"We didn't know that he was a dragon," Green Spyro said as if that explained everything.

"I don't know, something still doesn't seem right," he said in suspicion.

"Plus what is the down side of us helping you? We know where the Growths nest, their weakness, and if your friend is hurt we can carry him a lot better then you," Yellow Spyro added nodding to Sparx's damaged wing. He had to drop his head though as another sneezed racked through him and more sparks crackled.

"Fine then, I except your help," Sparx said after a moment of consideration. "We can leave after I… rest a bit." He dropped to the ground with a small 'plop' in the mud unable to take the pain any longer.

"Are you okay?" Blue Spyro asked running up with concern written all over her face.

"Yeah I'm fine uhhhh…." he stammered.

"Stag," she supplied for him.

"Yeah Stag," he muttered breathing heavily, body drenched in a cold sweat, not really registering what was being said.

"Maybe we should take him back to Ignitus," Yellow Spyro voiced.

"No I'm fine, I'm fine. I do this all the time," Sparx said trying to convince them, failing horribly as he paled a few shades.

"I agree and we should probably rest up too if we are going to be tracking the Growths. We can head out in the morning, it's too late to try it today. We have no hope after sundown," Red Spyro said him also.

"Hey weren't you even listening to me?" Sparx slurred indignantly. He might be small, but he still demanded respect from these different colored Spyros.

"You are in no condition to be talking to us like that," Green Spyro said suddenly, getting fed up. She leaned in close to him just as he was about to retaliate, but she breathed out over him and suddenly he felt himself get very sleepy. Suddenly, he didn't have the energy to argue, all he wanted to do was sleep…

"Nice one," Blaze praised with a smile.

"I know. Sleeping gas, my other specialty," Bane smiled back as she picked Sparx up none too gently with her forepaw. "Here you carry him," she said turning to Stag, giving a chuck motion.

"No don't do that!" she yelled in horror.

"Of course I'm not going to throw him stupid, I was just playing around. Sheash, don't have a seizer," Bane said in disgust passing over Sparx.

"It didn't look like you were playing around," Stag muttered softly clutching Sparx protectively to her chest. Bane chose to ignore her.

"Let's get this show on the road then," Blaze said with an impatient flap of his wings. The other three nodded in agreement and they headed off towards the temple.


	4. Chapter 3: Call of Thunder

**Chapter 3**

Stag made the three hops across the ravine with ease, despite her new passenger. Sparx was having a bit of trouble though, every time he got jostled or his wing moved he would cry out in pain, and, to Stag's mind, pale several shades. She didn't know much about a dragonfly's anatomy but she was guessing that something was seriously wrong.

Plas finished his crossing quickly right after Stag and walked over as Bane made her cross. "How's the little guy doing?" he asked.

"Why do you wanna know?" Stag asked suspiciously, claws tightening unconsciously.

"I think you're hurting him even more," Plas remarked off handedly and Stag hurriedly released her grip. "I'm just a little concerned since I was the one to zap him and with the weather and all."

"Well that was your fault, you did it despite what I said," Stag said snootily putting her nose in the air.

"I was just following Blaze's orders. If you wanna disobey him then go ahead, do it," Plas said narrowing his eyes. A streak of lightening scattered the clouds above and the sudden flash gave him an almost demonic look.

Stag was taken aback. "No I didn't mean that," she stammered.

"Then watch your mouth," Plas warned, leaving Stag and walking over to where Blaze was. The ice dragon just stood there mouth agape. She could never figure out Plas.

Blaze crossed after Bane and the four walked hesitantly forward. The next area was considered the most dangerous. Most of the clearings in the swamp had giant mushrooms surrounding the edges and the caps would block off most, if not all, seeing ability from the air, but the next clearing had absolutely no mushroom protection, just a wide empty space. It was more valuable to them then harmful though, because if the temple ever went under siege it would be fairly easy to protect.

"Be careful," Blaze warned looking up into the sky. "Cynder could be right above us and we would never know with this type of weather." Another catch of lightning hit the air as if to emphasize his words and the others nodded in silent agreement.

The rain came down harder with the lightning and Blaze gave a snort of smoke in irritation. Rain was never good for a fire breather. He looked over at the rest of his group, planning a strategy. Plas seemed to be the readiest out of the group, he was literally crackling with energy. Blaze knew his electric powers would be more then up to par even if he wasn't.

"Plas," he called watching him as he trotted forward. His eyes were large and unfocused, and he breath was deep and labored.

"Yes?" Plas asked, grey eyes trying to focus.

"I want you to be offense right now. Can you do that?" Blaze asked cautiously, knowing the quick and drastic effects the weather had on him.

"Yes," Plas hissed looking up as another bolt of lightning tendriled the sky.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm certain," Plas said leaning forward, eyes dilating. Blaze gave a nod, unfazed by his friend's actions. They were nest mates, all of them were. They knew each other front and back and trusted each other. Blaze gave the okay and Plas walked slowly out into the clearing, watching the sky.

"Is he okay?"

Blaze jumped as Bane's voice echoed in his ear. He looked over and saw her standing right next to him, eyes focused forward on Plas.

"He said he was," Blaze said slowly turning to look him also.

"You know you can never trust him in this state, his moods just change on the dime," Bane commented turning to Blaze.

"I know but if anything happens it's best for him to get it out of his system now and not in the temple," he sighed.

"I guess there was more then one reason Ignitus chose you to be leader. You think everything through," Bane smiled. Blaze gave a hesitant smile back before turning his attention back to Plas. He had nearly reached the middle of the clearing.

"Everything's all clear!" Plas yelled, voice slightly higher pitched then normal.

"Stag!" Blaze called and he was surprised to see her jump. "You go out with the dragonfly. Plas will cover you." Stag nodded and walked forward wordlessly, making the other two wonder at her strange behavior.

Slowly, she stalked out into the clearing, looking around carefully as she clutched Sparx to her chest. She got about halfway across before a sudden shriek hit the air. Two Dreadwings came swooping down from above the clouds and Blaze and Bane were instantly running forward to help the two.

"Stag watch out!" Blaze yelled as one of the Dreadwings aimed for her. Stag tensed as she prepared herself to roll out of the way, but a sudden fork of lightning shot from behind her and the creature went down in a heap of smoldering fur and fried membrane.

"Plas!" she yelled turning. The yellow dragon stood there eyes wide as he panted heavily. Electricity sparked all around his body, as his eyes slowly bled to a golden red.

"Stag! GET OUT OF THERE!" Bane yelled as a more lightning flashed in the sky. Stag ran as fast as she could but with only the use of three legs she didn't get far before a sudden bolt of lightning stuck. The instant explosion of thunder made them all go deaf for a second before the shockwave sent them all flying off their feet.

The remaining Dreadwing rider kept his distance as he slowly circled the clearing. He was weighing his chances and they didn't look good. That yellow dragon had killed his comrade with just one shot, and that was **before **the lightning hit him. Plus, by the looks of it now the yellow dragon was more of a threat to the dragon pests then he was. Better not take any risky chances.

The Dreadwing rider gripped the reins hard, causing his mount to shriek before they turned and quickly flew away. He had to report back to Cynder, she would find this information very interesting.

Plas gave a laugh as the electricity coursed through his body like a pure, erotic ecstasy. He loved it. The feeling of a living entity caressing him inside and out, touching him. It was all so pure, so lovely, so wrong.

He opened his mouth and a bolt of lightning shot into the sky. The thunder that came with it echoed through his body and made his blood shake and boil. He couldn't contain it any more. He needed to release some way, some how or else, he felt, he would explode with all the tension.

"Don't move!" Blaze screamed trying to make himself heard over the thunder that surrounded them. He knew Bane had heard since she was right next to him but he wasn't so sure about Stag. She was too far away, and he just hoped that she recognized the signs.

Stag braced herself against the ground, her wings spread over herself protectively. It seemed like the world was falling apart and while she knew that she could live through the attack she wasn't so sure about the dragonfly. His body seemed so fragile and she didn't know how much damage it could take, he had already been zapped once today.

Chaos seemed to erupt around her as the world was suddenly engulfed in yellow and blue sparks. Lightning hit the ground everywhere and a horrible sound that reminded her of the roar of a leviathan echoed through her body. After a couple of horrifying seconds the pandemonium stopped and she looked up in time to see Plas's body drop from the air and land with a thud to the ground. Electricity sparked along him and Stag looked cautiously over to Blaze and Bane. They both had their wings thrown over each other and shared similar horrified expressions. Bane recovered the faster of the two, being just as solid as her element, and got shakily to her feet. Blaze followed suit and the two walked cautiously over to Plas's unmoving form.

Stag looked away from the two and looked down at Sparx. He didn't seem to be doing well, his breath was coming fast and harsh, but he was still alive by some miracle. Stag guessed it was because she had been lucky enough not to have been struck.

Bane and Blaze crept hesitantly closer and closer to Plas. A burst of electricity suddenly bounced across his scales and both of them reared back in alarm.

"Is he okay?" Bane asked sniffing the air warily. An acidic scent reached her nose and she pulled back.

"I think so," Blaze answered taking a few steps forward. He watched Plas carefully and was thankful to see his chest moving steadily up and down. A bolt of electricity suddenly reached towards Blaze and ran down the length of his spine.

"Blaze! Are you…?" Bane gasped.

"Yeah, I'm fine Bane. I'm-I'm okay, it was just a small spark," he answered blinking; that had been a charge.

Stag padded over and Bane answered the unasked question. "Yeah he's fine."

"Good," she replied with a nod.

"How's our bug friend?" Blaze asked, turning.

"He's fine for now but he needs help." Stag drop her head with the last part and the other two could read through her words clearly.

"To bad Aqui isn't here," Bane voiced, "He is the healer."

"But he isn't so we need to hurry," Blaze said approaching Plas again, thankful that no electricity shot at him again. "If there are no objections I'll carry him," he asked looking up at Bane. She shook her head and he bent down and carefully rolled Plas onto his back. "Man he needs to lay off on the sweets," Blaze grunted under his breath.

"You know he remembers all he hears even when he's unconscious," Bane teased.

"Shut up," Blaze grunted shifting Plas's weight around until he finally found a comfortable position. "Bane you good on-"

"Offense?" she finished for him. "Well considered I'm the only one without a passenger sure. I'm all fired up." And to prove her point she ended by shooting a blast of green into the air.

"Good," Blaze nodded. "Now let's get back to the temple."

--

Spyro woke up with a pounding headache. He got shakily to his feet and found in surprise that he couldn't go any further. His wings, feet, and tail were all bound with thick yellow vines. He tried to call up his flame breath but got no more than a faint wisp. The blaze that was accessible to him earlier was gone, sapped away with the rest of his strength. He attempted to use his teeth to gnaw through the vines, but that failed too. Finally, he slumped back down as exhaustion hit him. Muscles in his back suddenly stretched tight in pain and he was in agony. After it passed, he slowly lifted his head wearily and looked at his surroundings.

He was tied to the remains of a trunk and in some type of wooden cage, though cell could almost be a more appropriate term. It was formed out of a natural indention in the wood and crude but sturdy bars further prevented his escape. He looked outside his prison and saw numerous others like his own. Only one, though, was filled and inside sat a lone ape. He was turned away from Spyro and had yet to notice his awakening.

Spyro tried to call out to him but his throat was raw and only managed to choke himself. The sound however was enough to attract the ape's attention. His back stiffened and he seemed to fuddle with something before turning around. He watched Spyro with a small amount of interest, not speaking a word. Spyro licked his lips and called out. "Umm hello? Could you tell me where we are?"

"Oh so you are alive," the ape replied slowly, "at least for now."

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked in confusion tilting his head.

"Man I never thought I'd be havin' this conversation with a dragon, a purple one nonetheless," the ape chuckled darkly.

"A dragon?"

"You're just full of questions aren't you?" he snapped in irritation scratching his neck. Spyro bit his lip in embarrassment at the rebuke, he supposed that he should be just as shocked that he was actually talking to an ape and not trying to kill it.

"What's you're name?"

The ape gave him another annoyed look, but till answered. "My name is Ebrir and I am of the Graytwister Tribe." Spyro looked taken aback by such a strange name, but he kept his mouth shut. Ebrir however was able to read facial expressions. "You're name would seem strange to me too. No don't tell it to me, I don't care."

Spyro dropped his head, hurt. This was the first time that somebody had really never been nice to him. He had almost come to expect it since he was so nice to everybody and everybody in the swamp had been the same way in return.

"How do we get out of here?" he asked after a moment.

"If I knew do you think I would still be in here!?" Ebrir snapped.

"Sorry, I just thought that maybe, we could help each other out," Spyro said giving his ropes another small tug.

"Why in the world would I help you?" Ebrir asked walking up to the bars of his cage. "You are tied up, I am not. You have been put under tight security, I have not. If we met under any different circumstances we would be trying to kill each other."

"I wouldn't try to kill you!" Spyro yelled knowing it to be a lie the second it came out of his mouth, and he was ashamed of it.

"Liar," Ebrir hissed, dragging out the word to make him flinch. "I was in part of the search party that you attacked right before the Growths came. I saw you kill my fellows. Do not try to deny it."

"But you attacked me first!" Spyro protested thrashing. His back muscles suddenly tightened again and he was sent into another series of spasms that lasted longer this time, and when it finally ended he was left covered in sweat and weaker than a newborn.

"How pathetic," Ebrir said crossing his arms, thoroughly unimpressed. "Why am I wasting time with you?" With that he walked away, deeper into his cell to where Spyro first saw him, back turned again. Clicks and curses could be heard from the ape and curiosity would not leave Spyro the alone.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"If I tell you will you leave me alone?" Ebrir said, not even bothering to look up from his work.

"Yes."

Ebrir turned his head and gave him a piercing gaze. The distance between the two didn't make it lose any of its effectiveness and he had to keep from squirming. "I don't believe you, but why not," Ebrir finally said turning back to his work but continuing to talk. "If you haven't noticed were inside a giant tree."

"What?" Spyro gasped.

"There you go asking questions again," he growled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Spyro hastily apologized, "Please continue."

He didn't say anything for a couple of minutes and Spyro thought that he was going to keep quiet and never talk to him again when suddenly the ape continued. "A tree's made of wood and wood burns. I don't know exactly what these Growths are made of but my guess is that they burn too and when they come for me they're going to get it. Dammit!" There was a sudden snap and Ebrir threw something into the corner. He panted heavily in anger as he hit his fist against the ground and Spyro felt a flash of fear, suddenly very glad that Ebrir was in a different cage then him. Finally, after the ape's anger subsided a bit, Spyro spoke up.

"If its fire you're looking for I can help."

"Yeah I've seen you're fire. I don't want this whole place burned down around my ears. There are much better ways to die than that," Ebrir said bitterly baring his teeth.

Spyro pressed on ignoring Ebrir's reaction. "All I can do now are sparks but if that's enough."

"I need a bit more then sparks," Ebrir laughed. The sound of splintering wood filled the air and he quickly fell silent as heavy stomps could be felt coming their way. "They're here," he whispered.

Spyro knew he was talking about the moss monsters and started to thrash against his binds. "Don't even try," Ebrir warned, "They used creep vine, the more you move the tighter they get."

The moss monsters suddenly lumbered in and Spyro froze, Ebrir reacted totally different however.

"Who are you going to take next huh?!" he yelled. "You all ready took Zedox and Neonix!! Will it be me or that purple dragon over there?!"

Spyro saw the moss monsters eyes narrow in anger. "Shhh!" he hissed, "don't make them angry."

"It doesn't matter, we're both going to die," Ebrir said bitterly with a deranged smile and Spyro knew he'd lost it. The moss monsters suddenly walked over to Ebrir's cage and the ape began to laugh.

"Come on then!" he yelled jumping up onto the bars and gnashing his teeth.

"No, stop," Spyro hissed as all three moss monsters surrounded Ebrir's cage. From Spyro's vantage point he could see a giant green hand rise up from the dirt and rip Ebrir down to the ground. Something inside the ape cracked sickeningly and he screamed. Spyro had to hold back his own a scream as the hand that held Ebrir suddenly shot back down into the earth. His cries were suddenly cut off and when the moss monster's turned back around one of them was carrying the unconscious ape with them. As they passed by Spyro's cage one of the moss monsters garbled something incoherently while pointing at him. He froze and only when the moss monster holding Ebrir shook his head and passed on did his heart start to beat again.

They left and Spyro sighed. "What am I going to do now? I can't just sit here and wait for those horrible creatures to comeback for me, I have to do something," he said out loud.

He looked down at the vines that held him captive and determination flared through him. He tried to summon his flame and found he got a little more than last time. He remembered Ebrir's warning about burning the place down and carefully set to work on the vines, flaming them piece by piece hoping to soften them enough to use his teeth.


	5. Chapter 4: Escape

**Chapter 4**

Blaze walked out of the tunnel panting heavily. "I do need to start him on a diet," he muttered under his breath.

"You doing okay?" Bane asked trotting up beside him.

"As well as I can be considering I have a dragon on my back," he joked. They continued on through the tunnel until it stretched out into a large cavern. Twilight shone through the holes in the ceiling and rain drops trickled in sluggishly. It looked like they had spent out the worst of the storm in the cave.

"I'll go activate the statues," Bane said running forward. She stopped right in front of the statues and gave the door a small blast with her breath. Nothing happened. She tried again and still nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Blaze asked as he and Stag came tottering up.

"The stupid door won't open," Bane said testily, "My guess is that those damn Bulb Spiders knocked the statues over again."

"We really need to talk to Ignitus about them," Blaze said rolling Plas onto the ground. He gave his wings a flap to stretch out his tired muscles. "Well you might as well get going and put them back in place. We'll watch these two," he ended with a yawn and Bane rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but next time it's your turn to push the statues," she said jumping up into a side passage. She walked forward a ways and gave a hiss as two Bulb Spiders blocked her path. They scuttled hurriedly out of her way and she gave a small snort of contempt. As she continued along the familiar, blasting any Bulb Spider that got too cocky, she made a mental note to tell Ignitus they needed to scourge the place again.

The tunnel opened out into another smaller cavern and Bane climbed her way up the ledges that graced the sides. She got to the top and flapped her way over to the other side of the cavern with ease, powerful wings giving her ample air time. She landed gracefully and, wasting no time, ran forward until she found the ventilation shaft for the next room. She groaned though when she saw the covering blocking the hole. "Those Bulb Spiders were so dead for this," she said to herself before blasting off the covering and glided slowly down. The Bulb Spiders started their assault almost the second she landed and Bane gave retaliated with a menacing snarl.

Blaze toyed around with an old rusted dragon helm as he and Stag waited. The visor suddenly gave a snap and he flinched as the two halves wobbled around in circles. "So how's the bug?" he asked, bored, looking over at Stag.

"He's doing fine," she answered barely glancing up from atop her mushroom. Blaze was about to continue when suddenly the door started to shake and slowly open. Stag jumped off her mushroom, and Blaze, distracted, walked over to the door. Bane came stalking out covered in yellow goo from one of the exploding mushrooms. Blaze couldn't help but laugh. "What took you so long?"

"Shut up," she growled, "I am so not doing that again." She shook her head in an attempt to get the goo off her horns but her efforts only caused it to stick together even worse.

"Don't worry," Blaze said still chuckling as he shifted Plas around on his back. "You can clean up at the temple." Bane just gave him a scathing look and Blaze quieted himself. Never good to press Bane when she was angry.

--

Spyro bit and gnawed his way through the vines. He had managed to free his front two paws, but the back two were becoming a hassle. Blood was dripping down from his gums and he quickly ran his tongue over them. The vines were tough but he would escape.

He inhaled and shot a small jet of fire at the offending vines. The fire burned at his scales but he could see the vines start to wither. When the pain reached an almost unbearable level, he called off his fire panting. He looked down weakly at his foot and saw a nasty burn gracing the side. He looked further down and saw with a spark of excitement that his efforts had not been in vain. The vine had been burned through, now he just needed to be more careful when he did the other foot.

--

"The past is prelude, tomorrow a dim promise. Allow us entrance, do not reject us," Bane finished the chant and the temple door slowly slid open.

"You've returned!" Ignitus said looking up from the seeing pool. His expression however turned for naught when he saw them. "What happened?"

"Storm outside," Blaze said rolling Plas off his back into the corner under the Thunder Seal. "And we have another visitor who claims he's friends with a purple dragon."

"What? The purple dragon?" Ignitus said in shock taking a couple steps forward. Bane, ignoring them, walked over to her corner under the Earth Seal and began viciously gnawing at the dried goo. Stag however went forward and showed Sparx to Ignitus.

"Yes, he claims to know him but I'm afraid he's very hurt. He was hurt when we first found him and our way back here was not the easiest, nor the safest."

"Thank you Stag," Ignitus said taking the dragonfly. He examined Sparx carefully, giving a frown as he saw his injured wing. "He needs healing but I am afraid my abilities are not nearly strong enough for this wounds."

"Will he make it?" Blaze asked walking up to Ignitus. "We may need him if we want to rescue the purple dragon."

"Rescue?" Ignitus said sharply looking down at the smaller red.

"The dragonfly said the purple dragon was captured by Growths. They were the ones that injured him in the first place."

"That is bad news indeed, but first we most help our little yellow friend here. I will take him down to the Grotto and heal him to the best of my abilities. It won't be much but he'll live. You three rest up and help Plas. The four of you must be at the best of your abilities if you are going to be infiltrating the Growths."

"Thank you Ignitus," Blaze said bowing his head. Ignitus nodded back and limped off towards the Grotto, Sparx in hand.

"You know…now is when we… really… need to get…Aqui back here," Bane said in between mouthfuls of dried goo.

"Yeah," Blaze said turning to Bane, "it's always hard to wake Plas up without Aqui."

"What should we do with him for now?" Stag asked with a small flap of her wings.

"Leave him here. He'll wake up when he gets hungry and head for food," Blaze said heading out. "That's were I'm going too, if anybody wants to join."

"I'm game," Bane said standing up and stretching, all the goo finally off.

"I'll eat later," Stag said dropping her head for a second, and without another word she headed off in the opposite direction.

"Whatever," Blaze said shrugging as he and Bane went to quest for food.

--

Spyro limped slowly over to the bars of his cell. The bars were made of thick logs, overlaid again and again with thick vines. In essence, a regular skull bash should have been able to knock them down (he tried and now he was pretty sure he had a third horn), but the Growths had tampered it so it was tougher than steel.

Spyro sighed, pacing around his cell trying to think of ways to escape. He knew the Growths were going to come back soon and he had a very distinct feeling they wouldn't be happy to see him free of his bonds. He rubbed his horns against the bars dejectedly. 'How in the world am I going to escape?' he thought. He sat down to think and winced as the burn on his leg protested. As he thought he tentatively dug his claws into the dirt. Feeling frustrated he rolled over once and irritably shook the dirt from his back and spines. 'The ground here is too moist,' he thought. That was when it hit him: since the ground was so soft he might be able to dig his way out.

With the plan in mind Spyro set to work, claws sifting their way through the mud. He had no clue how deep the bars of the cell went, but he just hoped it wasn't far. Quickly, he dug and after about five minutes he reached the bottom of the bars. With renewed excitement he clawed his way through to the other side and in no time his head was popping out of the dirt. He wiggled his way through until he finally stood on the other side and gave a small shout of joy at his accomplishment, but was cutoff as his muscles sent him into another paroxysm.

Slowly, he got up from the ground, drenched in a cold sweat as scolded himself for not remembering about his newfound affliction. He looked around wondering where he was going to go now. He had no clue where he was, where the exit was, or where in the world Sparx was.

"I wonder if he's safe," Spyro muttered to himself. "But there's no use in worrying about him now. I just have to get out of here and pray that he's safe." With that determination he headed over to where he'd seen the Growths take Ebrir. What he found was a large wooden corridor with a very high ceiling and without hesitance he took off at a run. After couple curves he found himself infront of an extremely large, round wooden door.

"How in the world am I supposed to open this," he said, mouth agape in astonishment. There was no handle to be seen and the door looked way too heavy to be pushed forward. He carefully approached, wondering if there was a secret switch or something. The only he could find out of the ordinary was that it seemed to be on a track. 'No, that can't be right,' he thought taking a closer look, low and behold though he found that it was indeed on a track.

Tentatively, he took a couple steps back, gathered his strength, and rushed at the door, slamming it with his flank. He pushed against the door sideways and at first he thought he was too weak to move it when, suddenly, the door started to slowly roll forward. He pushed and pushed until finally the door opened enough for him to slide through. Quickly, he darted in as the door rolled shut with a resonating boom behind him. He waited fearfully for the hordes of Growths to start swarming in but when none came, slowly, he relaxed and started forward again hoping there were no more of the sliding doors. As he progressed noticed that the floor was slowly starting to slope upwards; maybe that meant he was nearing the exit.


	6. Chapter 5: Betrayl of Fur

**Chapter 5**

Spyro hugged the wall tight as he slowly peered around the corner. Two Growths were rooted on the other side conversing in a weird guttural tongue. He bit his lip wondering how in the heck he was going to get pass them. There was always the possibility of doubling back and taking another route, but that would risk getting caught and he was sure his little escapade would have been noticed by now. He was just surprised alarms weren't going off yet.

He watched and waited. His front paw was starting to fall asleep, and he started shifting his weight, wondering how much longer the Growths were going to take. A piece of wood under his foot suddenly snapped and his blood froze. Without a second thought, he ran back down the way he came, heart pounding erratically in his ears.

He stopped as he came to crossroad and looked around fearfully. "Which way did I come from?' he thought frantically, 'Left, right?' He frowned hearing the imaginary footsteps of the Growths behind him and decided to wing it. He ran down the passage ways, twisting and turning, only stopping when his body couldn't take it anymore as he collapsed to the side of the tunnel, flank heaving.

The air was damp here and humidity slathered over everything with a weird musky feel. Slick moss covered the walls and water dripped from the ceiling, occasionally hitting him in the snout. Fewer torches lit the way and they were spaced far apart throwing portions of the wooden pass into shadow.

Spyro trudged to his feet and looked around. Dully, he thought he must have gone deeper down into the tree. The imaginary pursuers had to be far behind him, but now he had no idea where he was. Spyro shook his head wearily and continued on.

Another crossroad appeared and he looked around to see if there was anything to hint him in the right direction. There was nothing. He sat down in the middle and looked down each passage, trying to decide a way. A horn call broke the silence, echoing down the passage, quickly followed by the pounding of heavy footsteps. His eyes widened in fear and quickly he fled to the shadows the tunnel. A platoon of growths marched passed and, praying not to be seen, he tucked himself as far as he could go against the side of the wall, quivering. Only once the platoon had long since passed did he finally come out of hiding. He definitely knew which two tunnels he wasn't going to take.

--

Bane and Blaze circled around each other hissing and spitting dangerously. Muscles clenched and Bane pounced. The two went rolling across the training room's floor clawing and scratching. Blaze managed to get his feet in just the right position and kicked her off, quickly getting to his feet and countering her with a charge. Bane landed a few feet away and had to make a hastily sidestep. Blaze's charge missed and the two ended up circling each other again.

The door leading from the seeing room slowly creaked open and Bane and Blaze looked up from their sparing as Ignitus limped slowly into the room. With a small flap of his wings Blaze resumed his normal posture as Ignitus approached. "How's the bug?" he asked. Bane took the opportunity, she leapt and had him pinned to the floor in seconds.

"I win," she said with a smirk as Blaze blinked up at her stupidly, brain still trying to catch up. One second he was talking to Ignitus and the next he was on the floor looking up at Bane.

"Get off me," he growled, blowing a black smoke ring into her face. With a laugh she let Blaze up and Ignitus shook his head with a small smile.

"He will live," Ignitus answered taking a seat in front of his two pupils before his tone and expression turned serious. "Plas has still not wakened though and I am afraid we do not have the time to wait until he does."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked with a sharp tilt of his head. "We aren't leaving until the morn, there should be plenty of time."

"I looked into the seeing pool and saw that the Growths are preparing to have their Ritual of the Half Moon at sunrise, there will be no time," he explained.

"But the half moon isn't for another week," Blaze said in disbelief before realization dawned on him, "but a dragon is considered a perfect sacrifice."

"We need to hurry then!" Bane yelled, tail whipping back and forth and blood pumping.

"Yeah, if the dragonfly was speaking the truth," Blaze countered, keeping a level head.

"I do not believe the dragonfly was lying," Ignitus said, "During the healing there was evidence of fire on him."

"That still does not prove everything," Blaze said stubbornly before conceding, "but I trust your judgment Ignitus."

The Guardian gave a nod knowing how much it meant for him to actually say that. "Time is of the utmost essence right now. The Growths have already started making preparations."

"We need to find Stag then and leave now if we want to make it before midnight," Blaze said looking through the training room's skylight. The sky was a dusky purple flecked with a few last remaining strands of pink. "Ignitus have you seen her?"

"No I am afraid not," he answered with a shake of his head. Blaze cursed in response, sending up a plume of fire, the countdown till dawn already starting in his head.

"She's probably gone to one of her little 'hiding spots'," Bane said in disgust. "It would take us until midnight to find her."

"We can't waste that much time," Blaze said impatiently thinking up a plan. He had noticed something bugging her earlier but hadn't put any real thought into it then. If he'd known it would have caused this much trouble though he would have talked to her about it. "We have no choice but to leave her then," he said after much consideration.

"I worry about just the two of you going alone but there is no other choice," Ignitus agreed solemnly.

"It may be for the best Ignitus. She has been acting strange lately and this is more of a stealth mission then an actual attack. The two of us be just fine."

"Hmmm, yes, maybe so. Now you two must hurry, time grows short," Ignitus pressed. With a nod each Blaze and Bane rushed out onto the vista and took off into the air just as the stars started twinkling to life behind the clouds.

--

Spyro slipped on the mossy floor and cried out as his burn reopened. Painfully, he got to his feet and mechanically continued on down the tunnel. Gradually, the tunnel had started spiraling downwards and its curves becoming more predominant. He was sure he was on the right path, but to what he did not know.

A lack of torchlight cast him into shadow and he slowed his pace. The lack of eyesight hindered him but his hearing sharpened slightly. Soon he became aware of a light patter of footsteps following close behind him. He scrunched himself against the wall like he had earlier and waited. Footsteps were indeed following him, but they didn't sound like Growths, not heavy enough. They grew louder and his eyes could just pick out the shape of a small figure. He crouched low, waiting for the shape to come closer. When it came into range he lept with a snarl. Without warning, an appendage abruptly came up and smacked him in stomach. He went rolling across the floor coughing as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Pathetic. How the hell did you overcome us with those skills?"

"Ebrir?" Spyro coughed out recognizing the voice, "I thought you were dead."

"Nobody of the Graytwister is that weak," the ape spat and Spyro could see his form move slightly away. He pushed himself up, but fell down as his muscles clenched and he went writhing across the floor in pain. When it finally ended, he was drenched in a cold sweat and shaking visibly. It had been a while since that had happened, he had almost forgotten. Ebrir scoffed slightly as the young dragon picked himself up.

"Why were you following me?" Spyro asked weakly watching the shadow of Ebrir's form move back and forth restlessly.

"Could be curiosity," was the cryptic remark, "but I was surprised that you actually managed to escape and if you knew the exit."

"No, I-I don't," Spyro answered shaking his head.

"I gave you dragons too much credit then," Ebrir snorted. There was a small noise of footsteps and his shape started to fade. panic jolted inside of Spyro.

Panic jolted inside of Spyro and he yelled "Wait don't leave me!" as he frantically looked around in the darkness for Ebrir.

"Why shouldn't I?" the ape's voice called, distantly.

"We could help each other!"

There was a silence and he was afraid that Ebrir had decided to just leave him, but slowly his voice trickled from somewhere above.

"No."

On an impulse he couldn't explain, Spyro suddenly drew in a great expanse of air and shot a fireball at the ceiling. Light flooded the darkness and Spyro saw Ebrir clinging to the ceiling in fear. "Stop that!" he commanded at Spyro, "you'll set this whole place up in flame."

"That's the point," he growled, "and I'll do it too if you don't agree to help me."

There was a sudden thump and Spyro guessed that Ebrir had dropped himself from the ceiling. There was the pithier patter of footsteps and Ebrir's shadow appeared right in front of him. He could even feel the heat of the ape's breath when he next spoke. "I would kill you right now purple dragon, but that would cause too much of a ruckus." The shadow suddenly backed off and Spyro took his actions for a yes. There was a small silence before Ebrir's voice yelled "You coming dragon or not?"

"Yes!" Spyro yelled hastily running forward where Ebrir's barely visible form was waiting at the edge of the torchlight.

"Do you know where this path goes?" he growled giving a motion down the tunnel, clutching his side with his other hand.

"No, I don't," Spyro answered sheepishly and he gave him a look that showed exactly how much he wanted to kill him. "So, um, exactly how did you escape?" Spyro asked remembering the crack he had heard when Ebrir had been taken away.

"More questions," the ape growled and spat. Spyro fell silent, abashed. The two continued on as such until they hit a fork.

"I think we should go right."

"We're going left."

Ebrir and Spyro looked at each other as their voices echoed in unison.

"We're going left," Ebrir said firmly, leaving no room for discussion and starting down his chosen pass.

"I don't like the feel of that way," Spyro said eyeing the tunnel warily, "I think we should go right."

"Look little dragon, I don't care what you think," Ebrir yelled turning, "The easiest thing for me to do right now would be to hit you over the head and leave you for those bloody Growths to find."

"I wouldn't let you do that," Spyro said trying to be firm, but his voice lacked the conviction.

"You think you can take me little dragon?" Ebrir challenged. Spyro flared his wings and crouched low, but despite his attempts Ebrir could still see him physically shaking as he favored his burnt leg, sheens of sweat building up over his scales. He leapt and Ebrir rolled out of harm's way and struck the him on the burn. Spyro yelled in pain and collapsed. It was overwhelming, the raw ache, and when he finally could stand it he opened his eyes and saw blood flowing freely.

"You are no leader," Ebrir hissed in his face, "now get up, we're going." Spyro could do nothing but comply as he struggled to his feet and slowly limped after the ape.

The path leveled itself out and slowly stopped spiraling. Spyro knew they had taken the wrong way, but kept his opinions to himself. He did not want to anger Ebrir again. The last comment he had said had spooked him more than he would like to admit.

'Am I really not a leader? Is the only thing I do is follow?' he thought bitterly, trying to remember all the adventures in the swamp that he and Sparx had had. 'Did Sparx really start all of them and I just followed, willingly, taking all the blame later?' These thoughts troubled him.

"We're getting close."

Ebrir's voice cut through his thoughts and he looked up. "Close to what?" he asked.

"Shhh!" the ape hissed.

They had walked some distance without him even noticing. The floor had evened out and torchlights showered the hall with light. There was a bend up ahead and the forms of Growths could clearly be seen moving in and out of the torchlight. An odd smell reached his nose that he couldn't quite place, but his stomach could. It gave a growl and he was painfully aware that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"They're getting ready for a sacrifice," Ebrir muttered to appease any questions that he knew the dragon had. Spyro just gave a nod and kept his mouth shut. The two quietly watched the shadows of the Growths as they worked. Spyro had so many questions burning inside him that he thought he was going to burst, but they all fled his mind as a sudden screaming and snarling sound filled the air. He recognized the sound as and ape cry, and at first thought it was Ebrir and that they were both going to die, when a now familiar furry form shone in the shadows. He couldn't watch, the sounds were worse enough. When he opened his eyes again, Ebrir stood frozen beside him. "Neonix," he heard the ape whisper. There was a sudden boom of one of the rolling doors shutting and Ebrir ran forward.

"Wait, come back!" Spyro shouted after him, but it was no use, he didn't slow down at all. Hastily Spyro chased after him but stopped dead at the sight before him.

There was a dais, and strategically placed around it were the bodies of apes, mutilated in various ways. Now Spyro recognized the scent he had smelled earlier: meat and blood.

"The Growths will pay, those #!ing growths will pay!" Ebrir cursed softly over and over again as he stood above one of his fallen comrades. "I will kill them all!" he shouted.

Spyro looked down, not sure what to say to the statement. In the last few hours he had killed many apes and during all this time he never really thought of them as real. He never thought about their names, their personalities, their lives. They were just creatures that he just killed because they were trying to kill him. They seemed all too real to him now.

"Ebrir, I'm sorry I killed your comrades in that hunting party," Spyro said guiltily. Ebrir made no response. "Ebrir?" he said tentatively stepping closer. In a flash the ape stuck him in the face and he went down, hitting the floor with a hard crack. His vision swam and distantly he could hear something being shuffled through. It was quiet for a minute, then suddenly he felt himself being lifted from the floor. His feet and tail were bound together in a flash and the next second he was stuck staring up at the ceiling. Frantically, he twisted his head around until he saw Ebrir a few feet away.

"The Growths will kill you for me," he said before turning and fleeing down the opposing passageway and out of Spyro's sight.

"Wait Ebrir, come back! Don't leave me like this! Ebrir!" Spyro called out to the empty room.


End file.
